The remains of Hurricane Leslie from America caused the appearance of three new species of rare birds in Spain: a rose-breasted grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) and a yellow-throated vireo (Vireo flavifrons) in the Canary Islands, and a Tennessee warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina) in Asturias.
The observation of these passerines arriving from the other side of the Atlantic is a very unusual phenomenon in Spain, as reported by the Rare Birds Working Group of the organization SEO Bird Life, which indicates in a statement that it has incorporated seven new species to the national list of rarities in total.
Among them are the Atlas pied flycatcher (Ficedula speculigera) and the short-billed heron (Ardea brachyrhyncha).
These are part of the data included in the report The State of Birds in Spain 2024, which SEO/BirdLife will present this Wednesday at its 2025 Ornithological Conference, where it will show the most up-to-date knowledge on the situation of Spanish avifauna.
The document presents the results of the work carried out during 2024 within the monitoring programs, national censuses, Paser and Migra programs, review of IBA and the Red List of Spanish Birds, as well as the achievements of the different SEO/BirdLife working groups, providing an accurate snapshot of the conservation status of these species.
Thus, the Sacre (spring), Sacin (winter), and Noctua (nocturnal) monitoring programs, based on citizen science, show a generalized decline in bird populations.
Nocturnal species show the worst conservation status, with more than half of them in decline and none increasing. In spring, 43% of species show a decline in their populations compared to 1998.
Fortunately, in winter the situation does not seem as critical, with 66% of species in a stable or favorable situation. Many widely distributed species with a high presence in the samples show negative trends.
The house sparrow, with more than 1,000 samples in spring and more than 800 in winter, shows a moderate decline in both periods.
The same applies to the common swift, the serin, and the European goldfinch, all of which have an abundant presence and downward trends.
The joint analysis of data by habitat reveals that birds in agricultural and shrubland environments show the most signs of regression, especially during spring, when populations show sustained declines.
In winter, although some agricultural species experienced temporary recoveries, the general trend is also negative. On the contrary, forest habitats stand out for their positive evolution in spring, with growing populations, while in winter greater variability is observed, without reaching worrying levels
In urban environments, birds show a remarkable capacity for adaptation: their populations remain relatively stable or slightly increase in spring, and although more marked fluctuations are detected in winter, no prolonged declines are evident.